We talk a lot about opening new revenue streams so service providers can make more money. One area I’ve come across recently as a missed opportunity is pay-as-you-go (PAYG) cloud computing.
Long-term renting is always more expensive than full ownership, but for sporadic short sharp bursts renting provides a more economical approach. You wouldn’t rent a car every day of the year vs. full car ownership, but if you need one for just a week or a few days, or even a few hours then renting wins the cost benefit argument.
WHD.global is only one week away. Planning on attending WHD.global? Why not hear how you can create and launch IaaS in days. Meet with Flexiant to hear how you can create cloud services your customers will love. Here are three more reasons to meet with us:
1. Parallels Integration – Parallels providers, carriers and multi-system operators (MSOs) now have easy access to a broader choice of cloud management platforms and virtualization technologies. Flexiant Cloud Orchestrator and Parallels Automation integrate through APS Standard. Service providers using the integrated solution have a unique advantage to rapidly and cost effectively deliver a variety of IaaS services enabled by Flexiant’s unique cloud orchestration capabilities, all provisioned and managed through Parallels Automation.
I was inspired to write on the topic of services as a platform after reading a blog from James Urquhart, “Enough PaaS vs. IaaS: The cloud is really about Services as a Platform.”
One of the key challenges with public cloud, as far as perception is concerned, is the multi-tenancy problem regarding security, reliability and data privacy.
Of course, the definition of multi-tenancy in a cloud platform itself is confusing. Is something multi-tenant at the application, platform, or virtual infrastructure? Multi-tenancy at the application, platform or virtual infrastructure has potential benefits and concerns depending on customer requirements. And depending on those specific requirements, it may be possible to run parts of the service using multi-tenant infrastructure at an application level (e.g. DNS, e-mail), but run other parts in a single tenant infrastructure (e.g. the database or web server).
Realistically no customer just wants IaaS with the intention of running all the services on top themselves. They want one consistent platform (i.e. a collection of tools and services) through which they can consume services in a utility like manner. This is something service providers just starting to roll out IaaS need to wise up to fairly quickly.
If you are in search of a cloud management solution, you need to assess Flexiant. Of course, we would say that, but look what Info-Tech Research Group (Info-Tech) has to say. In the second consecutive ‘Vendor Landscape: Cloud Management Platforms’, Flexiant has achieved the highest product innovation score among ten vendors (Abiquo, CA Technologies, Citrix, Eucalyptus, Flexiant, InContinuum, Microsoft, OpenStack, Virtustream and VMware) and was recipient of the Value Award.
The Info-Tech report says, “Flexiant Cloud Orchestrator is a complete solution, offering significant flexibility and ease-of-use at a very reasonable cost…With roots in the service provider market, Flexiant targets service providers in Europe, and has exceptional dashboard customization, and integrated billing capabilities.”
Flexiant maintained the highest Info-Tech Value Score™ of the vendor group scoring 100, well above the average score of 36. Vendors were indexed against Flexiant’s performance to provide a complete, relative view of their product offerings. Flexiant was rated exemplary as a product in usability, affordability and architecture.
I’m at the Parallels Summit and just watched CEO Birger Steen discuss the service provider market. Birger spent a few quick minutes discussing what we know – the service provider market is facing consolidation, fragmentation, but also huge growth opportunities. What was particularly interesting though was his talk on the new breed of entrepreneurs. He used Carol, a florist from NOLA as an example of how SMB customers have changed.
Most customers these days start a business and need one, two or three vendors to support their IT needs. Fast forward a few years and now Carol the florist is no longer a florist. She is managing vendor after vendor to ensure she can deliver a service to her customers. And the attributes of these customers have changed. They go to their friends and then take to the Internet to find exactly what services they require. It’s a more informed customer and one that is looking for the best services for the business. Loyalty to a vendor isn’t necessarily part of the equation anymore because services are available from 1000s with only a credit card needed to launch.
So if loyalty alone is not enough, how do you, the service provider ensure you are still part of Carol’s business as it expands and grows? It’s about providing a seamless experience to your users with one UI that allows you to get back to doing your business – for Carol that’s being a florist. The theme of the session is putting the cloud to work for real businesses and that’s exactly what the service provider needs to do – let Carol be a florist!
The SMB market will be a huge area of opportunity for cloud service providers as single proprietor businesses open daily and need IT support so they can focus on their products and services. As these businesses grow, so too will their need for IT and that’s where Parallels sees huge opportunity for its customers.
